Kabat wins La Crosse mayoral election

"I'm shocked. I feel great, but I'm a little overwhelmed, honestly," said Kabat.

Kabat won 66 percent of the vote with 6,201 votes total. He beat out his opponent, Doug Farmer, who got 34 percent of the vote -- 3,238 votes total.

"I think it was just knocking on so many doors, you know, having that one-on-one voter contact, and our message -- our message of working together, having a council, and a mayor, and departments and our citizens all working together. I think, at the end of the day, that's what people really want," said Kabat.

"I am going to work hard every day to be a great mayor and to get this city moving forward. We've got a lot of great opportunities. And I just look forward to working with all of you to really have those things come together," said Kabat.

Doug Farmer conceded the race shortly before 9 p.m.

"I can't think of a thing we would have done differently," said Farmer, who said this race would be his last run for office.

"The buzz was good but clearly not good enough. Mr. Kabat should be congratulated. He'll be a great mayor," Farmer added.

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